San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-11-05
THREE Elton boys.
BY w. E. NORRIS. .

the greatest mistake in the world;
but If you viii marry, you will. Let
me know when the event comes of, and
III be your best man."
is not always easy TO tell how far
the sense Of duty and honor possessed
by men like Bracknel may be relied
upon. Doubtless there are certain Of
lenses against their fellow men which
they would under no circumstances COM
init; but as for tine rest, ! should i'm
agine that it was very much a question
Of temptation. Truth compels me
to admit that the temptations with
which Hilda assailed the heir of
Staines Court during the next few
weeks were Of a nature TO try the stout
est powers of resistance. ] don't say
that her tactics were novel; but do say
that anything more clever than her en-
plOyment of them never saw OF course
1.-THE young people," as we were gener-
ically termed by our elders, were continu-
ally together. There were rides, there
were picnics, there was lawn tennis-in
short, all the ordinary amusements Of
country house life in the summer time;
and to watch Hilda and Bracknell to-
gether on those occasions would have been
most entertaining if it had not been lit
tie distressing She stirred his curiosity;
she reused in him a spirit of emulation;
she flattered his vanity one day only to
wound it the next. Sometimes she ig-
nored him as obstinately as she had done
the first evening; and every now and
again when Jim's back was turned, she
would favor him with look which l am
quite sure must have sent thrill through
his whole person, though he had the credit
All this time she was charming 10 her
demeanor to poor old Jim, with whom,
however, she now avoided taking solitary
walks; and the upshot Of it was that
before a fortnight had passed, she had
two signing lovers at her feet instead Of
one. That may not have been a very
wonderful exploit to accomplish, never
theless it was accomplished with very
great skill.
How matters must end was obvious
enough; yet when the catastrophe for
suppose it must be called a CATASTROPHE
came / confess was slightly startled. 1t
was Mr.. Turner who apprised me Of it.
Strolling out in the direction of Staines
Court one hot morning, l came upon him
just as he was hurrying through the gates,
and he at once pulled up, took off his hat
and began to mop his forehead. Evidently
he was prey to conflicting emotions, and,
indeed, his first words were a confession
that such was the case.
'My dear Harry" said he, 81 am up
set-completely upset. Tell me now
for you have an old head upon young
shoulders-did it ever strike you that
there was anything between my daughter
and Lord BracknellY'
tho%
itself to me.
"You don't say SOP exclaimed Mr..
Turner. Dear me! Well, assure YOU
that l never was more taken aback in my
life than when Lord Bracknell came to me
last night to tell me that he had proposed
to Hilda and had been accepted. All, |
see that you are astonished. The fact is
that l had formed Other-ahem!-antic
pations. Possibly you may have shared
those anticipations?"
/ signified assent, and he went on:
"To tell you the truth, Harry, l should
have been better pleased if things had
fallen out otherwise. Even now am not
sure However, we shall see. have
just received a note from Lord Staines,
requesting me to call upon him immedi-
ately, and l greatly fear that he will not
D6 ldNOIdDlb W lllt tllSdStLltuJ. lOu are
very Observant, know; have you noticed
any signs of his being disposed to-er-
welcome dear Hilda as his daughter-in-
law"
l was quite unable to say that had,
and really felt very sorry for the poor
man, who seemed, through no fault of his
own, to have got between the upper and
the neither millstones. Nothing was more
certain than that he was about to get into
serious trouble with the patron of his liv-
ing, and it might be safely predicted that,
when he returned home, he would get into
trouble not less serious with the con-
troller of the household and his actions.
1 quite understood why he begged me not
to mention this. to anybody, and also who
was meant by that emphatic anybody"
for a squire in the hand is worth two Wis
counts in the bush. l willingly gave him
the required assurance, and he FASTENED
away toward the house, tanning himself
with his pocket handkerchief as he went.